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I tried raising queens with the Jenter system this past season, however, my sucess was nonexistent. So for next year, I'm planning to try and graft some larvae, and with them try another shot at raising queens. Anybody have any hints, even a thorough explanation of the process would be helpful. (I know very little about the grafting procedure but plan to read up on it during the winter.)

use a chinese grafting tool. You can get them at Mann Lake. I like to do it in my honey house where its out of the wind. I bought a pair of magifying glasses for about 5 bucks. And I like to shave the side of the comb to about an 1/8 of an inch of the qrub, its alot easier to transfer that way. Anyway thats how I do it.

lots of detail and many little decisions to make along the way, but it is not difficult. I think chef issac had a thread on the same question a few month ago.

as an example of the decision you will have to make: are you going to use the new plastic queen cell cups or natural wax cells. I use the latter which I buy from kelly, but you can also make them if you have a bit of beeswax. I believe that the plastic form is ready to use but the natural wax cells require you to place the cells in a fairly robust hive for a time (I usually put them in for a week) to be polished.

If I can provide you with any additional direction please feel free to e-mail me thur this web site.

You're problems aren't with the Jenter or grafting or not grafting. The fundementals don't change. My experience is that the tricky part is the cell starter. The key to the cell starter is LOT'S of bees. If the box for the cell starter isn't overflowing with bees, you don't have enough. Whether you graft or use the Jenter, you will still have to resolve this same issue.

I have a question on which part failed. Were you unable to get the queen to lay in the jenter or was it when you transfered to the cell builder colony? I am curious as I was thinking of purchasing the jenter system.

Kieran

\"I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree<br />And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made<br />nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee<br />and live alone in the bee-loud glade.\"<br />-- WB Yeats

Your problem isn't with the Jenter. It's either the timing (they HAVE to be Larvae and not eggs and that takes four days from when you confine the queen) or not enough bees and food. The ohio link above is a good system but many work. The essential things are:

1) The right age larvae. If the eggs haven't hatched and aren't in a puddle of royal jelly already, they aren't ready yet. If the larvae are bigger than an egg, they're too old. Four days seems to be just right from when you confined the queen. Pretty much between 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 days. Any more is too old. Any less the eggs won't have hatched.

2) Food. Make sure there are frames full of pollen and nectar (NOT CAPPED HONEY). A feeder full of syrup or honey wouldn't hurt either.

3) Bees, bees and more bees. Preferably nurse bees that are already secreting royal jelly. The ohio queen breeder's method of arranging the cell starter and shaking the ENTIRE hive into the starter (minus the queen) makes sure that the cell starter is overflowing with bees. Since the field bees will fly back to the regular entrance, the remaining bees are all nurse bees or house bees.

I find the starter works best queenless. I've never had a lot of luck getting a queenright hive to start queen cells unless I push them to the verge of swarming, and then they often swarm.

The rest of queen rearing is nothing, really, except not jarring the cells too much and timing.